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EV Charging dropped from 33 to 27 miles

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Sid786, May 24, 2018.

  1. Sid786

    Sid786 Active Member

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    Recently I saw a pop-up on the dashboard, asking if it is OK to use the A/C power to cool the traction battery (I don't recall the exact pop-up). I selected the option 'YES'.

    Since then my EV now charges to a max of 27 miles. Do you know what is this about and is there a way to reverse it.
     
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  2. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Don't sweat it. EPA says your range average is 25 miles. So you're still ahead of the curve.
    .
     
  3. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    No, your battery is still charging to its max capacity, only the estimate has changed because of the heat and heavier a/c load.
     
  4. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Wow, haven’t seen that msg yet. What type of temperatures are you getting. We are only in the 80’s for our highs right now. Also, I’m getting around 37 EV miles. Hope it stays.
     
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  5. PCPrime

    PCPrime Member

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    No need to reverse it, next time the message comes on, the DEFAULT is "NO".

    The message only comes on when the temperature of your traction battery is approx. 92 degree or above.
     
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  6. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    I always select "Yes", since as someone else has pointed out, the default is always "No". The reason you want to say "Yes", is to protect your battery particularly if you charge it frequently and in hot weather. Our weather out here in Anaheim California is always pretty damn hot, so I frequently see that message when I'm turning off my car. It has no effect whatsoever on my range, which is affected by my driving style and of course the temperature outside cold or hot. It appears that I get an optimum EV range when I drive smoothly on surface streets, and with an ambient temperature of about 65 degrees F. I charge as much as 3 times per day, and am now up to 22,000 miles.
    Oh, and I'm currently averaging 33-34 miles of EV range (I run on strict EV, and almost never on gasoline).

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
    AChoiredTaste.com
     
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  7. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    As your Prime (or PIP) learns how you drive, it adjusts your range. Using A/C is just one of the adjustments.

    Telling you good guesses rather than some artificial number is a GOOD thing.
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nonsense. it does not change by 6 miles overnight.

    it does go down about 10% when you turn the fan on, and back up when you turn it off.
     
  9. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    I'm wondering if the OP has made a sudden change, like using A/C in combination with more aggressive and/or freeway or hill driving. Those do significantly affect the range, and can do so quickly if he hasn't previously put on a large number of "conservative" miles.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
    AChoiredTaste.com
     
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    he bought it 09-01-17. don't know how many miles he has racked up.
     
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  11. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    What type of charger are you using; the level 1 that came with the car, or a level 2 charger? The level 1 can't supply energy to charger the battery and run the A/C at the same time. So the system switches between them. Charge the battery, and then switch to the A/C when the temperature starts rising, and so on. So it is possible the battery didn't get fully charged.

    More likely, something changed about your drive that is using more energy. The posted EV range is just like a distance to empty number for the gas tank. The car's computer is making a prediction based on past consumption. Start consuming more electric or gas, and those numbers will go down.

    If it is hot enough for the car to ask about battery cooling, the A/C is likely using more energy to cool the cabin during the drive.
     
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  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    never see my range estimate change by more than a few tenths a day.
     
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  13. heiwa

    heiwa Active Member

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    My wife observed somewhat similar event in which EV range went from 16 to 12 miles in less than 1/4 of a mile. She did not use ac, nor made any change in driving. She was on a regularly driven rout, a flat 3 mile commute from work to home. We have not been able to duplicate event since. The EV range estimate has remained 40 on car display as well as on phone app when fully charged, unlike OP.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  14. Sid786

    Sid786 Active Member

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    I only had 8060 miles on my car. The temperature here is pretty mild. Some days are 80+. I thought that this range drop could be one time thing, but I just did a full charge today and it again gave me 27 EV miles on the entune app. Dropping from 33 miles to 27 miles seems very drastic to me.
     
  15. Sid786

    Sid786 Active Member

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    I am mostly using L2 charger and once or twice in month use the 120V wall charger.

    Use of A/C is something which has changed. Also I am driving long distances since past 8 days. My average daily commute on prime went up from 20 miles per day to 140 miles per day. In the past 8 days almost racked up around 1500 miles.
     
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  16. Sid786

    Sid786 Active Member

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    Here is the screenshot of the charge just finished on L2 charger. Still saying 27 miles.
     

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  17. CraigM

    CraigM Active Member

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    Be sure your “mode” is ECO and not Normal or PWR.
     
  18. Sid786

    Sid786 Active Member

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    This is important to know, for the past few days I was in Normal mode. I have now switched to ECO Mode again. Next time I will charge, I'll check again if the range goes back to 33 miles in ECO Mode.
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    could be the drastic change in driving, as @HPrimeAdvanced mentioned in post #9.
     
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  20. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    Yeah, Mr. Bisco, but you have a PIP don't you? How many miles on your beast? My 2012 PIP at 100,000 miles was hard pressed to reach 9 miles of EV with or without AC, and driving 50% surface street, the rest on freeway, all flat roads, never in POWER mode, and driven like a Crippled Snail. Charging multiple times per day. Like you say, the range never varied much, and I was never able to reach 11 mile EV range after couple of years. It feels like the rules were different. The Prime EV range is VASTLY more satisfying, and in a year and a half, 22,000 miles, is maintaining its current 33-34 EV range with proper Snailish habits, including no AC. We're on a different planet here! And the car really handles, and accelerates brilliantly through the surface-street hills to Hacienda Heights from Anaheim. I've settled on EV/POWER mode permanently and love the responsiveness, with NO apparent penalty in range. Of course, hill climbing, and gunning the beast through turns does cost range, and I have to be a good Snail and coast as much as possible on the (relatively uncrowded) downgrades. The car easily takes 15mph marked turns at 35mph, and 40mph marked turns at 53mph. No Michelin sounds at all!! I love my (still too large!) fun-to-drive Prime Advanced!
    P.S. I am running on pure electric; no gasoline for months at a time; this does make a BIG difference in EV range consistency. When I occasionally use gasoline for my 300+ mile trips to Bakersfield, the range plummets for a while afterwards. Mr. OP, sounds like your experience.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
    AChoiredTaste.com
     
    #20 HPrimeAdvanced, May 26, 2018
    Last edited: May 26, 2018
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